The threat of a formidable Islamic State grows, as the Pakistani Taliban pledged support to the fearsome terrorist group and urged other Middle Eastern extremists to be part of the effort to repel the alleged Western campaign against Islam.

As the Muslim world celebrated the holy festival of Eid al-Adha,
the Pakistani branch of the Taliban (TTP) has expressed their
support for the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in an email to
Reuters, sent from an unknown location.

"Oh our brothers, we are proud of you in your victories. We
are with you in your happiness and your sorrow," read the
emotional message from their spokesman.

"In these troubled days, we call for your patience and
stability, especially now that all your enemies are united
against you. Please put all your rivalries behind you…

"All Muslims in the world have great expectations of you ...
We are with you, we will provide you with Mujahideen [fighters]
and with every possible support,” the confession reads.

It was released in Arabic, as well as Urdu and Pashto and came
shortly after the IS’s latest execution, that of a British
humanitarian worker, beheaded on video on Friday.

The message was followed by another show of support from a
splinter group within the Pakistani branch. It expressed a wish
to mediate between the rivaling IS and the Syria-based Al-Nusra
Front – a group taking its roots from Al Qaeda, whose
relationship with the IS has faced a few bumps lately, owing to a
difference in ambitions.

Proof that the worrisome Taliban-IS alliance is for good is
scarce at this time, but IS activists in Pakistan have been seen
distributing pamphlets praising the group on the streets of
Peshawar recently. The same mood could be seen in India, as IS
flags could be spotted at street rallies in the
Indian-administered Kashmir.

None of these are a good sign for global powers, whose main fear
of late has been the rapid expansion of IS ranks to include other
terrorist groups and a growing number of civilians joining its
cause.

Also, while the Pakistani leadership wants to set up a Sharia
state there, the IS has shown no interest in South Asia. And the
Taliban itself has seen emerging divides in the past year, one of
its factions splintering off due to a disagreement over the 2013
appointment of the new leader, Mullah Fazlullah.

The same hasn’t yet been said for the structure of the IS, which
seems to just grow and accumulate followers and fighters, as well
as Western businessmen, logisticians and IT specialists who’ve
become radicalized.

If the decision by Pakistan’s primary militant faction to offer
material and arms support to the IS is set in stone, the regional
consequences could be enormous, especially after US withdrawal
from Afghanistan, which practically every analyst out there said
would lead to a dangerous power vacuum that emerging terrorist
groups would be happy to fill, the way they did in Iraq, Libya
and Syria.

And yet, this could be just what the IS is looking for: a huge
Muslim region fiercely opposed to the West, and containing
hundreds of thousands of youths, former fighters and disenchanted
people looking to unite for a cause.